PlaystationNOW Wiki
Playstation 3 Grand theft auto Playstation The PlayStation (プレイステーション, Pureisutēshon?, officially abbreviated PS) brand is a series of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Spanning the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth generations of video gaming, the brand was first introduced on December 3, 1994 in Japan.[1] The brand consists of a total of three home consoles, a media center, an online service, a line of controllers, two handhelds and a phone, as well as multiple magazines. The first console in the series, the PlayStation, was the first video game console to ship 100 million units after 9 years and 6 months of its initial launch.[2] Its successor, the PlayStation 2, is the best-selling console to date, having reached over 150 million units sold as of January 31, 2011.[3] Sony's current console, PlayStation 3, has sold over 55 million consoles worldwide as of September 30, 2011.[4] The first handheld game console in the PlayStation series, PlayStation Portable (PSP), has sold a total of 67.8 million units worldwide as of February 25, 2011.[5] The PlayStation Vita, a touch screen handheld has also been developed by Sony as a successor to the PlayStation Portable, it released in the first quarter of 2012 in the US.[dated info] Other hardware released as part of the PlayStation series includes the PSX, a digital video recorder which was integrated with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, though it was short lived due to its high price and was never released outside Japan as well as a Sony Bravia television set which has an integrated PlayStation 2. The main series of controllers utilized by the PlayStation series is the DualShock, which is a line of vibration-feedback gamepad having sold 28 million controllers as of June 28, 2008.[6] The PlayStation Network is an online service with over 69 million users worldwide (as of January 25, 2011).[7] It comprises an online virtual market, the PlayStation Store, which allows the purchase and download of games and various forms of multimedia, a subscription-based online service known as PlayStation Plus and a social gaming networking service called PlayStation Home, which has over 14 million users worldwide.[8] PlayStation Suite is an upcoming software framework that is aimed to provide PlayStation content cross-platform and cross-devices; currently only Android and the PlayStation Vita devices are supported. Content set to be released under the framework consist of only original PlayStation games currently.[9] Current-generation PlayStation products also use the XrossMediaBar, which is an award-winning graphical user interface.[10] A new touchscreen-based user interface called LiveArea is being designed for the PlayStation Vita, which integrates social networking elements into the interface. Additionally, PlayStation 2 and original PlayStation 3 consoles also featured support for Linux-based operating systems, though this has since been discontinued. The series has also been known for its numerous marketing campaigns, the latest of which being the "Long Live Play" commercials in the United States. The series also has a strong lineup of first-party titles due to Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, a group of fifteen first-party developers owned by Sony Computer Entertainment which are dedicated to developing first-party games for the series. In addition, the series features various budget re-releases of titles by Sony with different names for each region; these include the Greatest Hits, Platinum and The Best ranges of titles. Playstation 1 The PlayStation (プレイステーション, Pureisutēshon?, officially abbreviated as PS; unofficially referred to as the PSX[10] or PS1) is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, 1994.[1] The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. In 2000, a re-designed, "slim" version was released, called the PSone, replacing the original grey console, and also being renamed to avoid confusion with its successor, the newly-released PlayStation 2. The PlayStation was the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship 100 million units, which it had reached 9 years and 6 months after its initial launch.[11] The last game for the system was FIFA Football 2005 released in October 2004, and the last PSone units were sold on Christmas 2004 for a total of 102 million units shipped. Games continued to sell until Sony ceased 100% production of PlayStation games on March 23, 2006; eleven years after it was released,[5] and just over half a year before the release of the PlayStation 3. Development The first conceptions of the PlayStation date back to 1986. Nintendo had been attempting to work with disc-based technology since the Famicom, but the medium had problems. The Famicom Disk System's rewritable magnetic discs could be easily erased (thus leading to a lack of durability), and they lacked any sort of copy protection, thus were vulnerable to piracy. Consequently, when details of CD-ROM XA (which had neither of those problems) were released to the public, Nintendo was interested. Simultaneously developed by Sony and Philips, CD-ROM/XA was an extension of the CD-ROM format that combines compressed audio, visual, and computer data, allowing all to be accessed simultaneously. Nintendo approached Sony to develop a CD-ROM add-on, tentatively titled the "SNES-CD". A contract was signed, and work began. Nintendo's choice of Sony was due to a prior dealing: Ken Kutaragi, the person who would later be dubbed "The Father of the PlayStation", was the individual who had sold Nintendo on using the Sony SPC-700 processor for use as the eight-channel ADPCM sound set in the Super Famicom/SNES console through an impressive demonstration of the processor's capabilities.[12] Sony also planned to develop a Super Nintendo-compatible, Sony-branded console, but one which would be more of a home entertainment system playing both Super Nintendo cartridges and a new CD format which Sony would design. This was also to be the format used in SNES-CDs, giving a large degree of control to Sony despite Nintendo's leading position in the video gaming market. After the collapse of the joint project, Sony considered halting their research, but ultimately the company decided to use what they had developed so far and make it into a complete, stand-alone console. As a result, Nintendo filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and attempted, in US federal court, to obtain an injunction against the release of what was originally christened the "Play Station", on the grounds that Nintendo owned the name. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction and, in October 1991, the first incarnation of the aforementioned brand new game system was revealed. However, it is theorized that only 200 or so of these machines were ever produced. 'Playstation 2' The PlayStation 2 (プレイステーション2, Pureisutēshon Tsū?, officially abbreviated PS2) is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan. Its primary competitors were Sega Dreamcast, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube. The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console of all time, having reached over 150 million units sold as of January 31, 2011.[6][7] This milestone was reached 12 years after the system was released in Japan on March 4, 2000. Further, Sony said it had 10,828 titles available for the system and that 1.52 billion PS2 titles had been sold since launch.[8] In late 2009, with developers creating new games and the console still selling steadily a decade after its original release, Sony stated that the life cycle of the PlayStation 2 will continue until demand ceases.[9] The console was succeeded by the PlayStation 3 in 2006. History The PlayStation 2 was announced in 1999 and while it would not be released until 2000, the announcement was enough to slow the momentum for the Sega Dreamcast's North American launch, despite the Dreamcast having a head start over that generation.[10][11] Directly after its release, it was difficult to find PS2 units on retailer shelves[12] due to manufacturing delays.[13] Another option was purchasing the console online through auction websites such as eBay, where people paid over one thousand dollars for a PS2.[14] The PS2 initially sold well partly on the basis of the strength of the PlayStation brand and the console's backward compatibility, selling over 980,000 units in Japan by March 5, 2000, one day after launch.[15] This allowed the PS2 to tap the large install base established by the PlayStation — another major selling point over the competition. Later, Sony added new development kits for game developers and more PS2 units for consumers. Although Sega announced the discontinuation of the Dreamcast in March 2001, the PS2 would face competition from newer rivals; Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube. Many analysts predicted a close three-way matchup between the three consoles; the Xbox having the most powerful hardware, while the GameCube was least expensive console and Nintendo changed its policy to encourage third-party developers, and while the PlayStation 2 theoretically had the weakest specs of the three, it had a head start due to its installed base plus strong developer commitment.[16] While the PlayStation 2's initial games lineup was considered mediocre, this changed during the 2001 holiday season with the release of several blockbuster games that maintained the PS2's sales momentum and held off its newer rivals. Sony also countered the Xbox by temporarily securing PlayStation 2 exclusives for highly anticipated games such as the Grand Theft Auto series and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.[17] Sony, unlike Sega with its Dreamcast, originally placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first few years, although that changed upon the launch of the online-capable Xbox. Coinciding with the release of Xbox Live, Sony released the PlayStation Network Adapter in late 2002, with several online first–party titles released alongside it, such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs to demonstrate its active support for Internet play.[citation needed] Sony also advertised heavily, and its online model had the support of Electronic Arts (EA); EA did not offer online Xbox titles until 2004. Although Sony and Nintendo both started out late, and although both followed a decentralized model of online gaming where the responsibility is up to the developer to provide the servers, Sony's moves made online gaming a major selling point of the PS2. In September 2004, in time for the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Sony revealed a new, slimmer PS2 (see Hardware revisions). In preparation for the launch of the new models (SCPH-70000-90000), Sony stopped making the older models (SCPH-30000-50000) to let the distribution channel empty its stock of the units.[citation needed] After an apparent manufacturing issue—Sony reportedly underestimated demand—caused some initial slowdown in producing the new unit caused in part by shortages between the time the old units were cleared out and the new units were ready. The issue was compounded in Britain when a Russian oil tanker became stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking a ship from China carrying PS2s bound for the UK. During one week in November, British sales totalled 6,000 units — compared to 70,000 units a few weeks prior.[18] There were shortages in more than 1700 stores in North America on the day before Christmas.[19] The original life span for the console was set at 10 years, but according to Sony, its lifecycle will continue as long as developers continue to make new games for the system, and as long as the console and its games continue to sell.[9] Latest activity Category:Browse